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Tuesday, May 23, 2017

Delain is a Dutch Symphonic Metal in the style of Nightwish. Even thought Delain had already become a force in Europe and garnered significant attention in the United States, I was unfamiliar with them a year ago, when my wife recommended I give them a listen. Soon after their fifth album Moonbathers appeared in my inbox and they announced a North American tour with my favorite band HammerFall. Clearly the universe was pointing me in the direction of Delain. I wish the universe had not waited so long to introduce me to this amazing band.

Charlotte Wessels

﻿I was surprised by the number and the dedication of the Delain fans. This first thing I noticed as I approached the venue, after an epic battle with Chicago traffic, was the many Delain t-shirts donned by queuing metalheads. A few brief conversations revealed many were not casual fans either, but enthusiastic and knowledgeable followers as excited to see their the Delain set as I was for HammerFall. Their status as co-headliners was well deserved.The sound was powerful and multi-layered with a low end heart-thumping groove. The rumbling of the bass guitar lock step with the double kick bass drum was the signature feature of the Delain sound on this night. ﻿﻿

Merel Bechtold

Singer Charlotte Wessels' haunting and angelic vocals wafted over all of this, hypnotizing their devoted fans, who sang in fine voice between forceful fist pumps. The band seemed to enjoy the show as much as the audience, and regularly expressed their gratitude for the American support.

Timo Somers

The music contained all the epic grandeur one would expect from the genre of symphonic metal.There was gravitas, depth, and aggression all accompanied by the powerful orchestration of band keyboardist, Martijn Westerholt. The band shifted seamlessly from moments of emotive ballads to thunderous rockers.﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿

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Charlotte Wessels

By the conclusion of their set it was apparent Delain has arrived, satisfying their most ardent fans and converting the uninitiated. Hopefully, this will not be the last we see of this powerful act in America.﻿﻿

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Martijn Westerholt

Delain plays Concord Hall

Otto Schimmelpenninck

Delain plays Concorde Music Hall in Chicago

Merel Bechtold

Charlotte Wessels

Rube Israel

Otto Schimmelpenninck and Merel Bechtold

Timo Somers

Charlotte Wessels

Charlotte Wessels

Wessels and Company perform for their devoted fans at Concord Hall in Chicago